Auburn area residents shared their visions for city parks Thursday night at the city's Parks, Recreation and Culture Master Plan Public Meeting.
“A park is an extension of your home,” said Mack Cain, director of landscape and architecture and the keynote speaker at Thursday's meeting.
Residents shared their wants and concerns, many speaking to the need for more facilities, which has been noted by Parks and Recreation Department as one of the main requests from the climate survey.
More than eight individuals from Auburn Area Community Theatre said they wanted a standalone theatre with storage and on-site building capabilities.
The theatre program is at capacity and needs more space to grow, they said.
In a similar request, several residents requested a facility for people with disabilities and special needs because of current at-capacity programs in Auburn.
An owner of a local skateboard shop said Auburn is in need of a skate park for the youth and skateboard enthusiasts to skate legally and safely.
Pamela Fitz of northwest Auburn, an area that is the focus of a new improvement plan, said she wants more parks and cleaned up areas in her part of the city. Whitney Morris called for more pools, while Jen Morse, another resident, requested better parking at venues and more recreational fields.
An Auburn student suggested the addition of art in city parks.
Cain said every city is different and that recreation is changing and always changing.
Stakeholders have shown interest in connecting people through greenways and greenspaces and investing more into art and performance spaces.
They have also taken an interest in adding more indoor recreation and activity spaces, Auburn City and schools sharing spaces and parks for connectivity and additional play and practice fields.
“The purpose of the master plan is to tell the city fathers where to put the money for the next ten years…In order to do that we need to go through the three step process,” Cain said.
The three step process includes pre-planning, which is the current state the city is conducting presently; the second phase is the planning phase, which will take place once all information, pricing and data are collected and the third phase includes the master plan creation.
“Parks are worth the investment ... the safest parks on Earth are the ones with people in it,” Cain said.
After what was considered to Parks and Recreation Director Becky Richardson a successful meeting, another public meeting is scheduled for Oct. 11 at 6 p.m. at the Harris Center. She said she wants more citizens to come out for the second open-floor, public meeting to share ideas and suggestions.
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